On Calmer Tides
by rynling
Summary: Ganondorf is a successful businessman who emigrated from Papuchia and is now raising his headstrong niece Tetra in Castle City, the capital of New Hyrule. Daphnes is a history professor who comes from old money and takes the cheerful energy of his grad student Link for granted. Contemporary Wind Waker and Spirit Tracks AU, Daphnes/Ganondorf
1. Chapter 1

Ganondorf tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and glared at the distorted version of his scowling face reflected on the windshield. He picked up his phone from its groove in the center console and checked the time. It was 6:15, and the little brat still hadn't shown up. What was taking her so long?

He turned the car off, opened the door, and climbed out. Although the sun was still in the sky, the air had already grown chilly. If he and Tetra didn't get on the road soon, they'd be stuck in traffic, and she would grow bored and insist on listening to her idiotic Rito boy band music all the way home.

Ganondorf slammed the car door shut. His Ordona Rover was the only vehicle in the turnaround, and he didn't bother locking it. This was an expensive residential neighborhood, and Tetra's school was one of the finest in Castle City. He walked across the circular plaza spreading from the front entrance, which was paved with colored bricks arranged to form a compass. Each of the four cardinal points was represented by a symbol: a castle, a snowflake, a mountain, and a fish. This design was overlaid with chalk drawings. Even in this neighborhood, open space was scarce, and some of the children must have spent their recess here.

He surveyed the chalk figures, trying to see if one of them might have been drawn by Tetra. The girl was an indifferent student, but she was a skilled artist, albeit more prone to drawing buildings and machines than people. On the edge of the plaza, white lines that resembled a tower caught his attention. This was exactly the sort of thing Tetra was always scribbling in the margins of her homework. He stepped toward it, intending to take a closer look, and –

"Excuse me, can I help you?"

Ganondorf sighed at the sudden interjection of a man's voice. Of course someone would come out to check and see what he was doing here. Even with his immaculately tailored suit and his freshly waxed car, there would always be people who didn't think he belonged in a place like this.

He cleared his throat. "I'm waiting for my daughter."

"I figured as much," the voice responded. "It looked like you were examining the chalk diorama here, and I happened to have watched it being drawn. Why don't you tell me your daughter's name, and I'll see if I can't show you her part of the picture."

Ganondorf glanced up and saw a man holding one of the school's glass doors open. He looked about his own age, but his hair and beard were already white. He wore a fitted red turtleneck sweater and plain khakis, and his loafers were well-worn. Nevertheless, there was something about his poise that made him seem somehow regal. Ganondorf resented the fact that, even though he had never seen this man before, the stranger looked much more comfortable against the backdrop of the imposing school building than he himself had ever felt.

"You're not a teacher here. Why would I tell you my daughter's name?"

The man laughed. "That's a fair point," he said, stepping outside and allowing the door to swing shut behind him. "My name is Daphnes Nohansen. I teach history over at Shadstown University, and I was invited here to give a short lecture to some of the students. Try to make history fun for them, that sort of thing. It was one of the teacher's ideas that the children illustrate scenes from the stories I told them, which is why I was flattered you took an interest in their drawings."

Ganondorf shrugged. Daphnes had a certain smarminess about him, and he looked like a professor. "Fine. My daughter's name is Tetra. She – "

"Is on the tall side, and wears her hair twisted in a bun?" Daphnes interrupted him. "She certainly left an impression on me. You're standing right in front of her sketch of the old Lokomo tower."

"I wasn't aware that Tetra had any interest in history," Ganondorf muttered, noting with pride the artistic skill evident in her drawing.

"I believe my lecture was part of an extra lesson for a certain group of students."

A remedial lesson, then. Tetra had told him she arranged for extra music practice. He knew she was lying, but he needed to stay at work for a few extra hours anyway, and he hadn't felt like calling her out on her story. He'd have to talk to her on the way home, and he wasn't looking forward to it. The girl would most certainly argue with him and try to weasel her way out of taking responsibility. Although he could never admit it to her, Ganondorf couldn't help admire her sheer pigheadedness.

"Tetra is a special girl," Daphnes continued. "I'm delighted to have made your acquaintance, Mr...?"

"Dragmire. Ganondorf Dragmire."

"Of Dragmire Energy? It's an honor."

Daphnes held out his hand, and Ganondorf shook it, somewhat ill at ease. Why would a history professor be familiar with his enterprise?

One of the school doors banged open, and the men looked away from each other to see Tetra striding across the threshold.

"Why are you standing out here holding hands with a teacher?" she called to him, her face twisting. "That's gross."

Ganondorf dropped Daphnes's hand and glared at her. "You know what's gross, young lady. Your flute is sitting on the back seat of the car, and it smells like it hasn't been cleaned in weeks."

Tetra's eyebrows shot up as she realized she had been found out, but then she grinned. "Why don't you ask your friend about my extra lessons, then? I'm sure you two old farts can find something in common, what with all that history you know." She turned to Daphnes. "Did he tell you he's interested in history? Interested in ranting about it, that is." She turned back to Ganondorf. "Toss me the keys if you want to stand around chatting, it's getting cold out here."

Ganondorf exhaled slowly, annoyed that Tetra would speak so nonchalantly in front of someone they had just met. "We should be going," he said to Daphnes. "Perhaps we'll meet again."

With that, he nodded and set off after Tetra. Daphnes stood and watched the two of them walk away.

"Yes," he said under his breath, "perhaps we shall."


	2. Chapter 2

Ganondorf pushed the gate of the chain link fence open and checked his phone as he crossed the basketball court. One of the local trains had almost derailed (something about wild pigs on the tracks) and traffic had been backed up. Once he finally arrived at Tetra's school, it had taken him forever to find parking. He was late, but he still had half an hour to spare before the end of the Spiritsday bake sale.

He paused outside the back door of the gym, slipping his phone into his pocket before straightening his tie and pulling down the sleeves of his suit jacket. Why did the school have to have its infernal bake sale on a weekday? He could only assume that most families who could afford the tuition here were financially comfortable enough to have a parent who was able to devote more time to childcare. It hadn't been easy raising Tetra by himself, but Ganondorf had never been one to back down from a challenge.

He opened the door and was immediately struck by the smell of sugar and the shrieks of children. He'd expected the event to consist of nothing more than a few folding tables, and he was momentarily overwhelmed by the festival atmosphere. The school had rented carnival-style popcorn makers, and there was a colorful gem tumbler for the Goron children. Balloons and streamers were everywhere, and some of the younger kids were dressed in what were no doubt trial runs of their Spiritsday costumes.

Ganondorf scanned the gym for Tetra, but he didn't see her. She was more than likely off on her own business. A number of older students had apparently been assigned to manage the tables, and he pitied the teacher who had tried to tell Tetra to sit still and wait for people to come to her.

With nothing else to do, he began walking around the perimeter of the room. He supposed he had to buy something, but the tables were already mostly empty. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a familiar flash of green. He approached a table manned by two bored-looking twelve-year-olds, its surface empty except for six garishly colored cookies that Tetra had painted with fondant icing to resemble the snarling faces of Geozards.

"Hey mister, you gonna buy these?" one of the children asked him.

"Nobody wants them, and we can't leave until they're sold."

Ganondorf scowled. Neither he nor Tetra had the patience for baking, but they had stayed up late the night before to ensure that she wouldn't show up to the event empty handed. To their mutual agreement, the cookies hadn't turned out half bad. Sure, they might be a little flat and a bit brown around the edges; and sure, the color of the icing might be a bit too strong, but they were perfectly edible. His pride was insulted.

"You kids get out of here," Ganondorf growled. "I'm taking over."

They stared at him in alarm, apparently undecided on what they should do, but when it became apparent he wasn't going anywhere they stood up and scuttled away without looking back.

Ganondorf walked to the other side of the table, sat down, and crossed his arms. The chair was too small for him and excruciatingly uncomfortable, but he would not go down without a fight. He would sell the damn cookies if it was the last thing he did.

The night before, it had crossed his mind to suggest that Tetra draw something softer and more palpable, like a Remlit sticking its head out of a pumpkin or a baby Bullbo, but she had been so excited about her Geozards, incorporating their facial fins into the circular design and using extra icing to make their eyes pop out. If the girl wasn't interested in cuteness, that was fine, but he thought her cookies were adorable anyway, and he didn't understand why people wouldn't buy them just because –

"My, if it isn't Ganondorf. Fancy meeting you here."

Ganondorf jerked his head up. He had been so absorbed in thought that it took him a moment to connect a name with the bearded face in front of him.

"Daphnes," he finally grunted. "Giving another lecture?"

"No, in fact. One of the teachers handed me a flyer for the bake sale the last time I was here, so I decided to stop by." He shrugged. "I never imagined they'd have an actual entrepreneur selling cookies."

Ganondorf couldn't decide whether the man was mocking him. "Well, here I am," he replied. "Are you buying?"

"I'm assuming your daughter added the artistic flair," Daphnes responded, touching his finger to the stylized snub nose under the cellophane wrapping of one of the cookies. "I can imagine her work is going to be valuable one day. A purchase like this will be an investment. How many rupees for the set?"

Ganondorf hadn't thought that far ahead. In any case, as far as he was concerned, anyone who didn't immediately raise an eyebrow at Tetra's handiwork was a friend, and Daphnes's appreciation was payment enough.

"Just take the lot of them," he said, waving his hand. "They're not much to look at, but I'm sure you have hungry students milling around your office."

"In fact I do." Daphnes nodded. "They'll be delighted. Tetra is quite talented."

Ganondorf sighed. "If only she were as dedicated to her schoolwork as she is to drawing endless processions of monsters. I don't know what to do with her sometimes." He was surprised to find himself admitting such a thing, but he was flattered that Daphnes remembered Tetra's name.

"Listen," Daphnes said, fishing around in the inner pocket of his bright red blazer. He withdrew a business card and passed it to Ganondorf, who stood up to take it.

"I have a graduate student named Link," he continued. "He's intelligent and quite good-natured, and I'm given to understand he does a bit of tutoring on the side. If you're interested, feel free to call or send me a skymail. I can put you in touch."

Ganondorf studied the card, which was printed on thick, crisp paper with the Shadstown University logo embossed in gold. He stuck it in his pocket next to his phone.

"I'll keep the offer in mind," he said. "In the meantime, the cookies are yours."

"Are you sure you don't want to keep one for yourself?" Daphnes asked him, smiling.

Ganondorf was about to answer when a sudden crash grabbed his attention. Peals of laughter rang through the gym. He recognized Tetra's voice immediately.

"Din save us all," he muttered, turning away from Daphnes and setting off for the source of the disturbance.

Daphnes watched him go, his smile still on his face. He had returned to the school for one purpose, and he had not been disappointed.


	3. Chapter 3

Ganondorf set a pot of tea down on the living room table and removed the lid, releasing a cloud of steam and the fragrance of steeped Lanayru flowers. Daphnes would soon be arriving with his grad student, and Ganondorf had already texted him the building's door code. Tetra, who was not pleased with the situation, had barricaded herself in her room.

The apartment felt too quiet. Ganondorf opened one of the sliding windows lining the south wall, and the faint sound of traffic drifted into the room. As he stood enjoying the breeze, he checked the time on his phone. He found it somewhat odd that Daphnes had insisted on accompanying Link, but he couldn't complain. The other parents at Tetra's school tended to avoid him, and the girl was only rarely invited to her classmates' houses.

His phone buzzed in his hand with a text. _We're coming up now_ , it read.

The bell rang a minute later, and Ganondorf opened the door to find Daphnes, who thrust out a brown paper bag. He raised his eyebrows and took it. "Come on in," he said, stepping aside.

A fair-haired Hylian boy followed along behind him. Although the afternoon was unseasonably warm, the young man wore two sweaters and a green beanie. _That looks uncomfortable_ , Ganondorf thought.

"This is my student, Link," Daphnes said, and Link held out his hand, an enormous smile on his face. Ganondorf was taken aback by his intense friendliness. As he shook the boy's hand, he saw Tetra sneaking out of the kitchen, a Spinut pastry clutched in her grubby fist.

"Tetra," he said, raising his voice. She glared at him. "Could you bring out some teacups?"

"Hi Tetra!" Link called out, still beaming. Tetra smiled back at him and waved before ducking into the kitchen.

"Please, sit down," Ganondorf said, gesturing toward the living room couches as he removed a bottle of whiskey from the bag Daphnes had given him. He wasn't familiar with the brand, but the label indicated that it was Anouki made.

Tetra reemerged with two melamine cups printed with Kikwi designs and two mismatched coffee mugs, both bearing the slogan "Hyrule's #1 Dad." Ganondorf shot her a look, and she stuck out her tongue. He rolled his eyes, sat down, and poured tea into each cup as Link introduced himself.

"Thank you for inviting me over, Mr. Dragmire," he began, accepting the Kikwi cup Ganondorf slid to him across the table. "I'm one of Professor Nohansen's students. I'm putting together an MA thesis about maritime history."

"Maritime history?" Ganondorf prompted.

"You mean like pirates?" Tetra jumped in.

"That's exactly what I mean," Link answered her, his enthusiasm clearly written on his face.

Tetra stood up, spilling some of her tea onto the rug laid out underneath the table. "You should come back to my room," she crowed. "I've got something to show you!"

Link looked at Ganondorf, who shrugged and nodded. "Thank you again," Link said before trailing along after Tetra.

Ganondorf took a sip of tea, relieved that Tetra seemed to have made a friend.

"Your daughter told me that she was dressing up as a pirate for Spiritsday," Daphnes offered. "I thought perhaps she and Link would get along."

"She's already got her costume hanging up beside her mirror," Ganondorf responded. "She's been planning it for weeks. I tried to take her to one of those specialty pop-up stores, but she didn't find anything she liked, so she had me take her to Malomart to buy an actual outfit."

"Malomart, really. How did that go?"

"I hate that place." Ganondorf reached forward, refilling Daphnes's coffee mug and then his own. He had almost forgotten that he owned these cups. Leave it to Tetra to spite him by dragging them out. "And it wasn't even a success. The clothes looked too new, apparently. The girl went poking around on the loftnet and came across an article that said you can 'distress' clothing by washing it with rocks. She tried it herself and almost broke my machine." He sighed. "Do you mind if I open the whiskey?"

"If you don't mind sharing." Daphnes placed his cup next to the bottle. Ganondorf broke the seal on the cap and tipped a few drops into both mugs.

"Did your daughter buy these for you?"

"She did, when she was a few years younger." Ganondorf took a long sip of his spiked tea, enjoying the bitter edge and the sweet honey aftertaste. "To tell you the truth," he continued, "she's my older sister Jolene's daughter. Jolene was a wild one, just like Tetra. When she turned thirty, she got it into her head to run off with some sailor. Lardbark? Landshark? Some Hylian name. No offense."

"None taken."

"Anyway, she came home a year later with a tiny creature in tow, which she dropped off with my aunts before heading back out to sea. Tetra's convinced herself that her mother is a pirate, and who am I to tell her otherwise? Every family has its black rabbit."

"Indeed it does," Daphnes answered, a slight note of sadness in his voice. Ganondorf glanced at him sharply. As much as his family liked to joke about Jolene, perhaps his wayward sister's antics weren't an appropriate topic to bring up in front of someone he had only recently become acquainted with. He didn't have much experience talking with people he'd met through Tetra's school, but he decided to finish his story. Who knew what sort of rumors Daphnes would hear otherwise?

"My aunts took care of her for a few years but then passed her on to me with the excuse that the schools are better here in Castle City. They also said they were sick of raising children, and I suppose I don't blame them."

"You two seem to get along well," Daphnes said, pouring a bit more whiskey into his mug.

"I can't keep up with her," Ganondorf replied. "She has too much energy for me."

"Youth is wasted on the young." Daphnes raised his mug in a toast.

Ganondorf clinked his cup against the rim. "I'll drink to that."

"I saw a copy of _Hyrule Historia_ when we came in," Daphnes commented, tilting his head toward the bookshelves on the far wall. "I use it as a text in some of my classes. What do you think of it?"

"Well." Ganondorf took another sip of tea. "Let me tell you."


	4. Chapter 4

Ganondorf sat down next to the café picture window and put his coffee and shopping bag on the table. Outside, the wind blew fallen leaves between the groups of Shadstown students walking along the sidewalk. He needed to get back to the office, but he hadn't been in the university district in months. He still had half an hour on his parking meter, and he might as well make the most of it.

His coffee was still too hot to drink, so he pulled the Ember Store bag toward him. The maroon foil of its ember seed emblem gleamed in the morning sunlight. Ganondorf removed a small parcel and studied its wrapping paper, which was printed with an intricate pattern of interlocking Kikwis. The sales associate who wrapped it had done a haphazard job, and Ganondorf was considering using the steam rising from his coffee to unseal the tape so that he could redo it himself when he caught a flash of bright red reflected in the window.

A second later, Daphnes called out to him. "Ganondorf! I thought I saw you walk in. Mind if I join you?"

Ganondorf shrugged, and Daphnes sat down on the other end of the table. He was wearing a crimson blazer over an azure open-collar shirt. The color combination should have been gaudy, but Ganondorf had to admit that it looked good on him. Judging from his travel mug and the soft briefcase slung over his shoulder, Daphnes was probably on his way to class. It had been almost twenty years since Ganondorf had attended the university here, and he felt a pang of nostalgia.

"What brings you to the neighborhood?" Daphnes asked.

Ganondorf handed Daphnes the small package, and Daphnes raised his eyebrows. "Owlan and the Kikwis," he commented. "My students love this show. It seems a bit too young for them, but who am I to judge?" He passed it back to Ganondorf.

"The Shadstown Ember Store is running a promotional campaign," Ganondorf explained. "They give you a Kikwi phone case, a strap charm and stylus, and some sort of animated wallpaper. I got here as soon as the store opened, but I still had to wait in line."

"I thought you had a Scervo."

"It's all the same to me, but this is Tetra's first smartphone. Her classmates have been showing up to school with Ember phones, and I didn't want to spoil the surprise by getting her the wrong thing."

"How thoughtful." Daphnes seemed genuinely impressed. "Is her birthday coming up soon?"

"Not for a few months, but you know how girls are at that age. If one of them gets something, they all have to have it, and I caught her looking at different models on her laptop the other day. One of my interns told me about this Kikwi promotion, so it seemed as good of an excuse as any."

Daphnes smiled warmly. "You're a good parent," he said, surprising Ganondorf with his sincerity.

Ganondorf nodded, unsure of how to respond. His sisters and aunts always spoke through a heavy veil of irony, and his associates only complimented him when they wanted something. He had trouble getting an angle on Daphnes, whose kindness seemed almost too good to be true. Ganondorf felt vaguely uneasy, but he decided to let it slide.

"When I was around Tetra's age," he said, "I really wanted a pair of Postman sneakers. You remember how popular they used to be. They were completely unsuited to the climate of Papuchia, where most people just walk around in sandals, but I had to have them. My moms finally got me a pair of local knock-offs. They fell apart in less than a month, which my family still teases me about to this day. I figure, if Tetra wants an Ember phone, let her have one."

"So you're from Papuchia," Daphnes replied. "When did you move to New Hyrule?"

"I came here for college," Ganondorf answered. "I went to Shadstown, in fact."

"A fine choice." Daphnes winked at him. "I hope you don't mind my curiosity, but is there any special reason you decided to come here?"

Ganondorf looked through the window and watched the students jostling each other on the sidewalk. Many of them were wearing layered sweaters like Link, who had been over twice since his initial visit. Tetra had taken to him, and she seemed to be doing better in school. He felt a slight twinge of guilt for not calling Daphnes to thank him.

"Actually, there is a reason," Ganondorf eventually responded. "When I was a bit younger than Tetra, one of my aunts decided that she was going to put everyone on the train and go to Zeldaland. It seems silly to me now, but at the time I was fascinated by the place, castles and knights and princesses and Bulblins and everything, the whole nine yards. The medieval fantasy appealed to me, I suppose. That's when I started reading about the history of New Hyrule. It's interesting how the legends and historical records blend into one another... but you would know more about that than I do, surely."

"There's a lot we don't know about New Hyrule," Daphnes admitted, "but sometimes I think it might be better that way. History is a carefully crafted narrative that reflects the values of the people who write it. If there are things in the past that have been left out of the official story, I can't help but think it might be to their benefit to not have been subsumed under the dominant ideology, which is to say that – " Suddenly he stopped himself. "I beg your pardon. It seems as though I was about to begin a lecture. It's a terrible habit of mine, as you might imagine."

Ganondorf checked the time on his phone. He wouldn't mind continuing the conversation, but he didn't want his parking meter to expire. "Maybe another time," he said, "but I've got to get back to the office. We've got some Gorons coming in at noon, and they don't like to be kept waiting." He stood up.

Daphnes stood with him. "Any time. You have my number. Why don't we get lunch sometime?"


	5. Chapter 5

Ganondorf flexed his hands and wrapped his fingers around the iron bar, his back flat against the vinyl cushion of the bench. He was lifting eighty kilos. It was a light starting weight for him, but he hadn't been to the gym in several days. Recently he'd found himself snapping at his employees and unable to focus on anything for more than a few minutes. After rolling his eyes and making sour faces all morning, Ganondorf's personal assistant Ghirahim finally handed him his gym bag and pointed at the door.

Ganondorf began lifting. As one part of his mind occupied itself counting reps, he considered the matter that had been troubling him. His business was holding steady, but it wasn't growing, and without growth it would stagnate. He had done well for himself, but modest success wasn't enough. If he couldn't expand his base of operations, he would eventually be bought out and forced to step down.

He had done a dozen reps. He set the bar on the frame and counted twenty breaths before lifting it again.

New Hyrule was powered by the oil and coal imported from the mountains to the northeast. Ganondorf had taken a poorly paid job as an assistant engineer for Hyrule Rail in the summer after his third year of college, a position that had allowed him to familiarize himself with the freight lines feeding Castle City. The inefficiencies of the system disgusted him, and in his senior year he established a consulting service that he aggressively promoted to the larger energy firms. These companies refused to take him seriously, so he started his own.

He finished another dozen reps, and he rested again before continuing.

He needed to take out a substantial loan, but before the ink had dried on his diploma he had already won contracts with Goron suppliers, and he began working with real estate agents and private developers to expand the city's power grid. Because he was able to save on transportation and delivery systems, he could undercut the larger companies, and before long he found himself hiring new employees on an almost weekly basis.

Another set of reps, fifteen this time. His heart hammered in his chest, and it felt good.

Ganondorf had established dominance over a small corner of the market, but he needed more. He couldn't compete with the larger companies on their terms, so he had to find an edge. The blade he chose to wield was alternative energy, but the technology was still in its formative stages. A long-term investment would pay off over time, but if he put up the necessary capital then short-term profits would fall. Even after almost twenty years, he saw no need to make Dragmire Energy a publicly traded company, so he had no shareholders to please, but it was the principle of the thing. Money was no longer an issue; he needed _respect_.

Twenty reps this time. Ganondorf no longer felt the need to rest between sets, but he stilled his arms and counted his breaths anyway. His detractors accused him of being impetuous, but he had always moved slowly and steadily, never losing sight of his goals.

His interest in the history of New Hyrule was more than a hobby. He had done his fair share of archival research, and there were a number of things that didn't add up. According to the old zoning maps, there had been rail lines crossing the land before the first records were written. Their focal point seemed to be the old tower standing to the east of Hyrule Castle. Even though the castle had been repurposed and now held bureaucratic offices, the tower stood empty, a monument to the Lokomo people who had supposedly helped the Hylians settle the land when they first arrived on their ships. In a premodern civilization in which a monarchy still reigned, how could there have possibly been trains? Moreover, if the Lokomo people were advanced enough to lay rail lines and construct a tower that rose taller than most of the buildings in Castle City, why had they disappeared?

Twenty more reps. Instead of resting the bar on the stand, Ganondorf held it slightly aloft, enjoying the sensation of his blood thrumming through his veins.

When history had given him no answers, he turned to legends, and in the past several years he had dug deep into the university library's special collections. He'd had to fight to gain access to some of the more obscure material, and in the end nothing less than a sizeable donation to the university had opened the door to the archives. What he found there was quite curious. According to the old accounts, hand-written on thick vellum, the ancient rails were powered by something called "force gems," which were guarded by "sages" in regional "temples." Ganondorf knew nothing of gems or sages, but the existence of pre-settlement seats of power did not surprise him. If the source of this power was indeed concrete, and if he could somehow manage to find it, then he could revolutionize not just the energy industry, but New Hyrule itself. He needed to locate the force gems, and then –

"Lifting without a spotter is dangerous, you know."

Ganondorf was so surprised to hear Daphnes's voice that he almost dropped the bar, but Daphnes caught it in the center and helped him fit it back onto the frame. Ganondorf took a moment to collect himself before sitting up. When he told Tetra about how he had run into Daphnes in a café the other day, she had given him a strange look. The girl was unusually perceptive, so he had pressured her into sharing her thoughts. "Don't you think it's kind of funny how this guy has been showing up all the time wherever you go?" she pointed out.

"What are you doing here?" Ganondorf asked Daphnes.

Daphnes smiled as he offered him his towel. "I might ask the same of you," he said. "I'm here all the time, but I've never seen you. I assume you usually don't come during the day."

Ganondorf took the towel and used it to wipe his face. Daphnes's explanation made sense; he was a professor, after all, and he had no need to keep normal working hours. Still, he couldn't deny the strangeness of the situation, and Tetra's intuition was rarely off the mark. At the same time, he didn't find these chance encounters unpleasant. He could easily brush Daphnes off and continue with his workout, but instead he slung the towel around his neck.

"I needed some time to clear my mind," Ganondorf said. "It's been a rough week at the office, but one of the perks of being the boss is that you can do whatever you want."

Daphnes chuckled appreciatively. "I can imagine. Do you need to get back just yet?"

Ganondorf instinctively reached for his phone before remembering that he had left it in his bag in the locker room. Besides, what did it matter? Ghirahim could handle things by himself for another hour or two.

"I've got time," Ganondorf said.

"Excellent!" Daphnes beamed at him. "Why don't we get lunch, then? I know a great place right around the corner." He held out his hand to help Ganondorf up. Ganondorf hesitated for a fraction of a second and then took it.


	6. Chapter 6

Ganondorf crossed his arms and frowned. He sat on a leather sofa in the lobby of the Anju Hotel, waiting for Daphnes. He was supposed to meet him at the hotel restaurant, Milk Bar, but the man was late. Although he was annoyed, Ganondorf was envious of Daphnes's casual disregard for time. His own schedule was occupied by demands and deadlines and matters that required urgent attention, and talking with Daphnes was like stepping into a softer world.

A group of tourists from Labrynna sat down on a nearby couch, chatting loudly in their language. Labrynna lay beyond the northern mountains, and most travelers came down the eastern coast by sea instead of taking a more direct route by train. They would pass through Papuchia on their way to Castle City, and Ganondorf knew enough Labrynnian to get by. From what he picked up from their conversation, the travelers were discussing local bars. The Hylian names rolled off their tongues, and no wonder – the two languages shared a common source, an ancient linguistic root whose origins were still debated. His own name was supposedly derived from that language, but he had never encountered it in any of his reading or research.

The group of travelers burst into laughter, and Ganondorf was suddenly conscious of the awkwardness of sitting alone in the bustle of the crowded room. He distracted himself by taking his phone from the inner pocket of his suit jacket. He had a message from his mothers that he'd been putting off responding to, and he might as well do it now. One of his second cousins had given birth to a daughter that morning, and he had been sent a picture of a tiny bawling maroon-faced creature. "Cute" was not the appropriate word to describe the thing. He remembered Jolene sending him similar pictures of Tetra via skymail, and he had been similarly unimpressed. But Tetra had turned out all right, he supposed.

"She is adorable," he typed. "Please give my regards." He sighed and tapped the Send button.

His phone rang almost immediately with an incoming call. Ganondorf rubbed the bridge of his nose and picked up.

"Hellooo, my darling son!"

Koume's bright voice rang out from the speakers before he even had a chance to speak. She shared a device with his other mother, Kotake, who was calmer and infinitely easier to deal with, and it was just his luck to send a message when Koume had the phone.

"I got your text," he said.

"Of course you did!" she responded, cackling. Ganondorf held the phone away from his ear as she proceeded to launch into a detailed description of the baby. He sat back and crossed his ankle over his knee. Where was Daphnes? He was already fifteen minutes late, and he hadn't contacted him to say when he'd get here. He could stretch his lunch break as long as he wanted, but Ghirahim would be on his case if he was late getting back to the office, and he preferred to avoid the hassle.

Ganondorf noticed that the line had gone silent. "Mom?" he asked.

"I _said_ , when are you going to have one of your own?"

"Mom, I'm not – "

"Think of Tetra, darling. I'm sure she'd be thrilled to have a little sister. Your big sister adored you when you were younger. Do you remember how she used to dress you up in monster hoodie pajamas and stage tiny battles?"

Ganondorf did in fact remember Jolene doing this, and it hadn't been pleasant. They had always been at each other's throats, and he was almost certain that she had resented him even when he was little. A train of associations flashed through his mind, and a thought popped into his head.

"Mom, listen. I have a question. Have you ever heard of something called Malladus?"

Koume didn't answer. This was troubling, as she was rarely at a loss for words, but he let the silence play out.

"Where did you hear that name?" she finally asked.

There was no point in lying to her. "I read it in a manuscript dating from the founding of New Hyrule," he said. "It seems to be tied to something called the 'Spirit Tracks,' and if anyone would know about those old legends, it's you."

She didn't respond. He jiggled his ankle impatiently, curious about what he had stumbled into.

"I need to discuss this with your mother," she grumbled after a few seconds.

"All right." He shrugged. "I'll call you back, then."

"No, I'll call you," she said, and the line went dead. Ganondorf looked at his phone in consternation. Koume had hung up on him many times before for no reason at all, but he sensed that he had upset her. "This has something to do with Malladus," he muttered to himself.

"Ganondorf! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Ganondorf started and looked up to see Daphnes, who had appeared out of nowhere. He was wearing a suit so pale grey that it was almost white over a red linen shirt. The outfit was casual, but the fabric and tailoring practically bled money. It occurred to Ganondorf, and not for the first time, that Daphnes dressed much too nicely for a professor.

Without waiting for Ganondorf to respond to him, Daphnes sat down beside him on the sofa. "Have you been here long?" he asked.

"It's fine," Ganondorf grunted. "Was there traffic?"

"Not at all. I overheard an interesting conversation on the way here, and I couldn't stop myself from eavesdropping. It's a terrible habit, but one hears the most interesting things in this part of town."

"I can imagine," Ganondorf responded, troubled for a reason he couldn't quite specify. His phone buzzed in his hand with a message from Tetra, and he checked it without thinking. "Hows ur date goin," it read. "Be careful ok." Be careful? Of what? What was she talking about? More importantly, wasn't she supposed to be in school?

"Do you need to take a call?" Daphnes asked him.

"No, it's Tetra," he replied. "Now that she has a phone, she never puts it down."

"I take it she likes her new phone, then?"

"She's obsessed with something called Tinglegram. It seems to involve her taking pictures of herself and everything in her immediate vicinity."

"It sounds like she's off to a good start, then," Daphnes laughed. "I have an account too," he added, removing his phone from his suit jacket. "Let me show you."

He leaned closer to Ganondorf to show him the screen. Ganondorf usually had no patience for people's phone photos, but the gods help him, he was curious, especially since there were a number of things about Daphnes that struck him as a bit strange. To begin with, why was the man so interested in him? This thought evaporated as soon as Daphnes opened his profile.

"That's your townhouse? Where did you buy that furniture? You drive an Epona?" Ganondorf was struck with envy at the luxury evident in Daphnes's pictures, but he was also fascinated. The man was wealthy, obviously, but he also had excellent taste, and his photography wasn't half bad.

"Tinglegram isn't much more than a way to make yourself look good." Daphnes smiled and handed Ganondorf his phone. Ganondorf scrolled down the page, amazed. Daphnes had thousands of pictures. "I'm a bit too old for this sort of thing," he explained, apparently amused by the look on Ganondorf's face, "but it's a good way to keep up with my former students."

A series of pictures suffused with the bright blue of the ocean caught Ganondorf's attention. "You have a boat?" he asked.

"I love sailing!" Daphnes beamed. "Let's go eat, and I'll tell you all about it."


	7. Chapter 7

Ganondorf's eyes gleamed in the light of the computer screen. He'd asked Link to send him articles about the so-called "Great Sea," a span of ocean far to the north dotted with a few sparsely populated islands. The boy skymailed him a good three dozen files, and he sent his staff home early so that he could read without interruption. He lost track of time, and his office had grown dark around him.

Ganondorf scanned his eyes across the lines of text, skimming for information about legends concerning an ancient "Demon King" that had terrorized the area hundreds of years ago, supposedly driving the seafaring Hylians south to this continent. All his mothers would tell him about Malladus is that the being was another such Demon King, and that the force gems had supposedly been used to imprison it underneath the Tower of Spirits, which he assumed referred to the old Lokomo tower. Although the Demon King of the Great Sea wasn't well documented, it was said that he had possessed a source of power known only as the "triumph forks," which were believed to allow their wielder to harness an almost limitless energy. Exercising hegemony over a mostly empty stretch of ocean hardly seemed like a task that necessitated such a set of artifacts, but Ganondorf was intrigued by the connections between these fragments of lore and the stories of the conflict surrounding the founding of New Hyrule.

He massaged his temples. He had been reading for too long, and he was developing a headache. He stood from his desk, stretched his arms to his sides, and turned to face the enormous picture window set into the wall of his office. It faced east over the downtown district of Castle City, and he had a full view of the Lokomo tower rising out of the skyline.

There had been a time when he saw the tower as a representation of everything that was grand and glorious about this country, and he felt that way still, but he had also grown to resent it over the past two decades. When he had first been taken to Zeldaland as a child, his mind had been filled with a fantasy of New Hyrule that involved struggle, certainly, but that struggle was heroic and just. He never imagined that the battles he would actually fight would be tedious and mundane affairs: legal squabbles over zoning regulations, stymied negotiations with corrupt officials, applications denied because of minor accounting errors, crippling inefficiencies in protocol and infrastructure, and on, and on, and on.

Ganondorf had come here questing after adventure and a life lived on a grander scale. New Hyrule had tried to halt him at every turn, yet the vivid colors of his dreams of greatness had never faded. Papuchia was not enough, with its barren sand wastes and rotting fishing villages and hedonistic tourist hotels. If he were going to make it anywhere, it had to be here in Castle City, a sprawling metropolis of light and sound and pure potential waiting to be realized. As he gazed at the Lokomo tower stretching into the night sky, Ganondorf reaffirmed his desire to create an empire worthy of his ambition. Whatever form the force gems of legend might take, they were certain to possess immeasurable value to the modern world, with its constant demand for energy. If he could find and control them, they would become the tools he used to shape reality according to his will. He would no longer be an outsider from a rural backwater; he would stand right at the center of the beating heart of the world.

His phone rang on his desk, startling him. His employees knew better than to contact him after working hours, and Tetra was at a sleepover, the first she'd been invited to since she was much younger. At this point in the evening the women in his family would be drinking tea on their verandas, a ritual they never allowed their phones to interrupt. There was no one else who would have any business calling him, except...

Ganondorf looked down at the screen of the vibrating phone. As he suspected, it was Daphnes.

He answered the call. "Hello?" he asked, more of an accusation than a greeting.

"Ganondorf," Daphnes said simply, offering no greeting of his own. "I thought I might still catch you at work. We need to talk."

"All right, fine." Ganondorf didn't understand what Daphnes wanted, and he refused to say more than he needed. Forcing the other party to speak was a negotiating tactic that had served him well in the past. He let the silence after his words stretch out.

"Why don't you come down to the lobby?" Daphnes eventually asked. "I was in the neighborhood, and I thought I'd drop by."

Ganondorf frowned, remembering Tetra's warning to be careful around Daphnes. Despite the strangeness of the situation, however, he didn't feel particularly threatened, and if he didn't leave his desk now he'd more than likely be here all night.

"I'll be right down," he responded.

He ended the call, switched off the monitor of his computer, and loosened his tie. It had been a long day, and despite himself he was worried about Tetra spending the night at someone else's house. Like him, she didn't make friends easily, and he knew how cruel children her age could be. She had given him an express command not to embarrass her by calling, and it had been harder than he expected. He considered calling her right now, but he knew exactly how upset and disdainful she'd be if he did. He understood she would grow up eventually, but he never thought he would resent her when it happened. This was something none of his aunts had ever told him about children, how much they hurt you without ever intending to. Gods, he needed a drink. He hadn't been to a bar in years, and he had to admit that what he had felt when he heard Daphnes's voice on the phone was not annoyance, but anticipation.

A few minutes later he strode out of the elevator and across the building's deserted lobby, his footsteps echoing across the polished marble floor. Parked alongside the curb outside was a burgundy red Epona. It was a new model, and the light spilling from the office building danced along its flawless hood. The passenger side window was open, and Ganondorf leaned down to see Daphnes gesture to him. "Get in," he said.

Ganondorf opened the door and climbed into the car, instantly surrounded by the soothing fragrance of the soft leather interior.

"Good evening," Daphnes said. "It's nice to see you again."

"I left the Rover at home," Ganondorf informed him as he adjusted the pants of his suit. "If you're offering to chauffeur, I accept. Tetra's got a sleepover, and I didn't see any need to drive."

"I know," Daphnes said, tapping his index finger against the wheel. "Link told me. I've been meaning to talk with you, and this seems as good of a time as any. I don't think it can wait any longer."

Ganondorf crossed his arms and stared straight ahead. The car was spacious, but his knees were still pressed against the dash. "I hope you don't intend to talk here," he grunted. "You're illegally parked."

"No, not here," Daphnes responded, shifting the car into drive and pulling out onto the street. "I thought we could go to my townhouse."

"Your house?"

"Right, my house. I have a number of materials that may be of interest to you, and they're not the sort of thing I want to display in public."

"Materials? What's this about?"

"It's about Malladus. I know you've been researching the force gems."

"How could you possibly know that?" Ganondorf felt a hot ember of anger begin to glow in his chest, but he kept his voice level.

"You just asked my student to send you a number of articles, for one thing, but the library has been keeping me notified of your inquiries. I tried to prevent you from accessing the special collections, but you were as insistent as I feared you would be. Even before then, when I caught wind of someone digging into the old legends concerning the founding of New Hyrule, I was on my guard. I hoped you would give it up as a foolish hobby or a lost cause, but you've somehow managed to get far too close to the truth of the matter."

Ganondorf could hear the heavy thud of his heart as he processed this information. He had always sensed the vague presence of someone working against him, and now that opposition had a name and a face.

"So you were stalking me," he said flatly.

Daphnes exhaled. "I suppose I was."

"What gives you the right?"

"This isn't about me. There's something you haven't yet uncovered about New Hyrule, and you don't seem to have any idea of how dangerous it is. Have you ever heard, Ganondorf, of the Legend of Zelda?"


	8. Chapter 8

"I want to try the pink eyeshadow," Tetra said, pointing at a shiny tube of gel within the mess of cosmetics spilled out onto the carpet in the middle of the circle of girls.

"This?" a freckled brunette named Maggie asked, picking it up and holding it slightly out of Tetra's reach. "This wouldn't look good on you at all. Your complexion is too..."

"Don't Papuchians usually wear brighter colors?" her friend Mila cut in. "I think I have some sky blue eyeshadow in my makeup drawer. Someone gave it to me for my birthday, but I never wore it. It's a little, um, extreme? At least for me."

 _Not like it would make your stupid face prettier anyway_ , Tetra thought, biting her tongue. She had always been quick to lash out at people who annoyed her, something that Gan was forever getting on her case about.

"You can't just say what you're thinking, even if you're right. _Especially_ if you're right," he had cautioned her during the car ride home after she'd been put in detention for correcting a teacher.

"But I hear you yelling at people all the time," she pointed out.

"I pay those people to let me yell at them," he'd muttered in response, lifting a hand from the steering wheel and rubbing the bridge of his nose. Tetra knew it was something he did when he was attempting to hold back his own words. She tried pinching her nose, but it didn't ease the burning in her chest. "I have to use the bathroom," she announced, standing up and leaving the room without looking back.

Mila's bedroom was on the third floor of her family's townhouse, which seemed impossibly large to Tetra. Mila had her own bathroom, but it was crowded with bottles of shampoo and lotion and perfume and smelled like the hothouse for tropical flowers run by one of her aunts. Besides, Tetra didn't really need to use the bathroom. She walked gingerly along the wall-to-wall carpeting in the hallway to the flight of stairs. She turned the corner on the staircase landing and then sat on one of the steps facing the second-floor hallway.

Tetra took out her phone and studied the Kikwi pattern on the case. No one else at school had one, and people asking her about it was how she had finally managed to become friendly with the girls in her class. By the end of the day they were all mutuals on Tinglegram, and by the end of the week the comments she left on people's photos had catapulted her to celebrity status at her school. Now that the other girls were talking to her, she'd been invited over to one of their houses, but it wasn't going well.

She felt embarrassed to text Gan about it, but he was probably sitting at home alone with nothing to do except read his stupid books, so she might as well.

"Ppl r being mean," she typed. "What to do?"

Tetra sent the message and waited, holding her phone in both hands and staring down at the screen, but no response came. What was he doing? She hoped he wasn't out with Daphnes. The man seemed friendly, but the intensity of the way he pursued Gan gave her the creeps. He was so obvious about it, and Gan was so oblivious.

She didn't feel like rejoining the girls just yet, so she opened an old chat with Link.

"Hi dude whats the deal w ur prof," she wrote.

His response popped onto the screen right away. "Can I call you?"

Tetra narrowed her eyes. Who called people on the phone? But whatever, she liked talking to Link. The sound of his voice always put her at ease. "Ok," she sent back.

Her phone vibrated, and she picked up on the first ring.

"Hi Link," she whispered, not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation.

"Is everything all right?" He sounded concerned.

Tetra thought about how worried Mila's mother had looked when she walked through the front door. Tetra had introduced herself and given her name, and the woman replied "I know" with a sour face before quickly putting on a strained smile and welcoming her into the house. It was an awkward situation, and the other girls had pretended not to notice.

"I'm fine," she answered.

"No offense, Tetra, but you don't sound fine. Come on, tell me how your sleepover's going."

"It's kind of weird," Tetra admitted. "Everyone is being nice, but it's also, like, they don't know how to behave around me?"

"What do you mean? I'm actually interested."

 _Figures_ , Tetra thought. Link was interested in _everything_. "Um, it's like, okay," she began, not really sure how to describe the situation. "You know how we drink tea at my house, right?"

"Right. It's such a nice custom!" Tetra could hear the enthusiasm in Link's voice. She sighed and continued.

"So that's the thing. You think it's a 'nice custom,' or whatever, but I thought _everyone_ drinks tea when they get home from school. I thought I was going to be polite, right? Cause it's the first time I've been over? And I asked this girl's mom if I could help her brew a pot, and she looks at me like I'm crazy. She's all like, 'Your father lets you drink tea,' and I'm like, 'He's my uncle, but yeah we drink tea,' and she's like, 'Well we don't let children have caffeine in this family,' like, what's that supposed to mean? And then we get upstairs, and everyone is like, 'It's so cool that you drink tea,' like they're trying to be nice, but it's the fact that they're going out of their way to try to be nice about it that's kind of weird, you know?"

Tetra paused for breath, and then concluded, "So I just think they're treating me a little differently than they treat each other, that's all."

Link laughed. "Tetra, this is classic you. You always pay such careful attention to everything around you, and you see things that other people don't pick up on. It's your special talent."

Tetra groaned. "Thanks, I guess."

"No, I mean it. But I think maybe this leads you to overanalyze people's behavior. We talked about this last weekend, right? Like in your history class, you want to question everything, and that's great, but you won't be able ask the right questions until you've learned the foundational facts. I know it's hard to be patient, but you have to try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you're the first person from Papuchia they've met, and they're still figuring out what that means. Or maybe it's just that they're intimidated by how smart and funny you are, and they're trying really hard to make sure you like them because they don't know you that well yet. Or maybe they're a little scared of your uncle, or at least this girl's mom is scared of him, because he comes off as really intense sometimes. Who knows? None of that has anything to do with you, though. Just give it time, and everything will turn out okay in the end."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Tetra grumbled. "But I should go, I've been on the phone too long."

"I understand," Link replied. "Call me anytime, okay? And good luck out there."

"Thanks," she said, and hung up.

Link was always so cheerful and supportive, and his optimism was contagious. Tetra felt a little better, and the tension had drained out of her shoulders during the conversation. Still, she didn't want to deny how uncomfortable she was. Mila and Maggie and the other girls didn't act like this at school. Link said that they were intimidated by her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being subjected to some sort of audition, and it bothered her more than she wanted to admit. Also, she hadn't failed to pick up on how Link circumvented her question about Daphnes.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Gan. _Finally_ , she thought, and opened it.

"Bide your time," it read. "If someone demonstrates disrespect, then they clearly underestimate you. Allow them to reveal their secrets, and take advantage of their weaknesses to strike back when the time is right." Knowing that he typed slowly, Tetra waited for a new text to arrive, and soon enough it did. "My clever girl, you will rise above them all." Tetra began to smile but was surprised when another message appeared on the screen. "Call if you want pick up," it said. Gan almost never made typos, so he must be worried about her.

"No it's ok, I'm fine," she wrote, taking care to use correct grammar. She sent the message, thought for a moment, and sent another. "Say hi to the other old man."

Her phone buzzed. "Cheeky brat," the message read.

Tetra slipped her phone back into her pocket before standing up and heading down the stairs. Since she was already halfway to the kitchen, she might as well get snacks for everyone. The other girls weren't bad people, after all, and she wanted to give them enough time to start to feel guilty. She decided to offer them a chance to be nice to her. And if they weren't? She would destroy them.

Tetra grinned to herself. If she played her cards right, things could still go her way. In the meantime, maybe she would try on the blue eyeshadow after all. It might be too "extreme" for Mila, but she was betting it would make her look _fierce_.


	9. Chapter 9

Ganondorf stepped across the threshold of Daphnes's townhouse. On the other side of the door was a wide room constrained by none of the narrow hallways characteristic of the city's older houses. The walls had been knocked down and cleared away, and a portion of the second floor had been removed to make the interior even more palatial.

Without waiting for Daphnes to invite him inside, Ganondorf walked into the open room, which was dimly lit at the far end by a chandelier constructed from large rectangular panes of frosted glass. The polished wooden floorboards gleamed in the soft light. The furniture was old yet well maintained and tasteful, and the walls were lined with bookcases. Potted plants accented the uncluttered space, which smelled vaguely of cedar. This was clearly the house of a bachelor, a man unencumbered by family and left with the leisure to pursue his interests.

"Make yourself at home," Daphnes spoke up. "There's some whiskey in a decanter next to the sofa in the back. Can I take your jacket?"

"That's fine." Ganondorf didn't turn to face him. "I don't intend on staying."

"Of course," Daphnes responded amiably as Ganondorf began walking away. "I need to get something from upstairs, but I'll be right back."

Ganondorf ignored him as he made his way deeper into the room. There must have been tens of thousands of books on the shelves, and even with a cursory glance he could tell that many were valuable. A library like this could not have been the work of one person; it must have been accumulated over generations. Once again Ganondorf wondered where Daphnes had acquired his wealth. He knew through his business dealings that townhouses like this could not be bought by just anyone. Daphnes must have connections, or he may have even inherited the place. It had been foolish of him not to investigate Daphnes's background. After all, the man had certainly been checking up on him.

A sparkle of light caught his eye as he spotted the crystal ornament on the stopper of the decanter Daphnes had mentioned, which was sitting alongside two glasses on an antique cherrywood table. Ganondorf poured himself a finger of whiskey and sat down on the nearby couch, the smell of leather rising around him as he leaned back.

He took a sip of his drink, the sweetness of honey lingering on his tongue after the flash of heat had descended down his throat. Everything in this house was immaculate and well-ordered and practically reeked of comfort and privilege. This was the life he had always wanted for himself, the life he had come to New Hyrule to find. In Papuchia he could have lived like a king, but he would never have been content to rule over a borderland scalded by the sun and eroded by the tides. Everything he wanted was in Castle City, and Daphnes's townhouse was as a perfect expression of what he had assumed he would achieve here. After years piled on top of years in a mountain of frustration, he had finally been able to envision the realization of his desires manifesting in front of him.

How hateful it was for Daphnes to stand in his way, blathering nonsense about the Legend of Zelda. _Have you ever heard of the Legend of Zelda_ , Daphnes had asked him. Ganondorf took another sip of whiskey and gritted his teeth. _Do you speak Hylian_ , he had been asked almost every day when he was a boy on the shore tending his mothers' potion shop, as if the tint of his skin and the color of his hair precluded the possibility that he was just as educated as the clueless tourists crowding the beach. Had he heard of the Legend of Zelda, what a condescending question. As if he hadn't just told Daphnes days before that its allure had motivated him to come to New Hyrule in the first place.

The Legend of Zelda, really. How could he not have known? A princess taken hostage by a monster, a hero rising to save the kingdom. There were as many variations of the Legend of Zelda as there were people to tell it, and its archetypes had become the building blocks of countless stories. As a young man he had envisioned himself as the hero, standing tall and fighting bravely against an entrenched power. At times he had even felt like the princess, trapped within an invisible crystal barrier by forces whose motives he did not understand.

But none of this had anything to do with him now. He had long since outgrown his interest in the rigidity of the legend, learning through experience that nothing was ever so simple that it could truly be called a battle against evil. Daphnes's insinuation that he was a monster for pursuing power was ridiculous. Thankfully, the man seemed to have the grace to realize how insulting his suggestion was. They had hardly spoken on the ride over, yet Ganondorf hadn't demanded that he be let out of the car. He supposed it had been curiosity that compelled him to come here. He felt a strange urge to see what Daphnes meant to show him – and, if he were being honest, to learn more about Daphnes himself.

Ganondorf finished his whiskey as Daphnes's footsteps approached. Soon enough the man was right in front of him, holding out what looked like a large piece of parchment encased between two panes of glass. Ganondorf set his glass down and took the frame with both hands. Although the document was tattered from use and had been torn in several places, he could see that it was a map of New Hyrule.

"Can I refill your glass?" Daphnes asked him.

"Fine," Ganondorf answered without thinking, his attention transfixed by the symbols on the map. They seemed to indicate what he had spent the past year and a half searching for – the locations of the temples housing the force gems. He had memorized the layout of the main trunk lines of the Hyrule Rail system, and he was not surprised to find them drawn on the map, which, judging from the simple castle at its center, seemed to have been made not too long after the country had been established. As he traced the rail lines with his eyes, he noticed something odd. Although the map indicated tracks leading to the four temples, no such railways existed in the present.

Daphnes sat down next to him and handed him his glass. It was more than half full. Ganondorf didn't understand what Daphnes was trying to pull by giving him so much alcohol, but his tolerance had always been high, and he resented the assumption that his judgment could be clouded by drink. Annoyed, he emptied the glass and set it out of reach.

"You wanted to know about the force gems," Daphnes said, the leather of the sofa squeaking under him as he sat back. "Well, there they are."

"I don't know where you found this map, but these tracks don't exist," Ganondorf snapped. For all he knew, Daphnes could have had the map fabricated as a hoax, or even as an art piece. He leaned forward to place it on the table next to his empty glass.

"The tracks don't exist _anymore_ ," Daphnes corrected him. "There's a reason why this power has been hidden."

"And that reason is why, exactly?"

"What if I told you that the Legend of Zelda is real? What if I told you that all of the Zeldas were real princesses of the royal bloodline? A Zelda founded this country after escaping from the Demon King of the Great Sea, and another Zelda saved New Hyrule from destruction by a war started by the very Malladus that your mothers didn't want to tell you about."

"How did you – "

Daphnes held up a hand. "It's not important. What you need to know is that Malladus tried to possess the force gems, just as the Demon King tore the Great Sea apart to find a similar source of power called the Triforce."

"You mean the Triumph Forks."

"'Triumph Forks' is a corruption. The Triforce was apparently composed of three objects very much like the force gems. These objects can indeed generate an immense quantity of energy, but they are not meant to be used by people. The force gems are manifestations of the numinous 'forces' holding this land together. They are locus points of the ley lines that became the railways of New Hyrule, the so-called 'spirit tracks.' If they are disturbed, catastrophe will follow."

Ganondorf struggled to contain his irritation. What Daphnes was saying was so outlandish that he didn't know how to begin to respond. "This is madness," he scoffed. "You speak of ley lines and numinous forces, but magic doesn't exist. Even assuming that it does, and that it's simply something beyond our current technological understanding, what does this have to do with princesses and monsters?"

Daphnes shook his head. "No one is born as a demon king, Ganondorf. According to the legend, someone only becomes a monster if he attempts to seize control of a power that must not belong to any one person. Should such a thing happen, a princess of the royal bloodline will become a Zelda in order to stop him, and she will draw a hero to her side if a cataclysm cannot be prevented. The force gems – and the Triforce – are not to be trifled with."

"And how would you know this?" Ganondorf scowled. "You're a scholar; cite your sources. I didn't come here to listen to hearsay."

"I'm afraid that may prove difficult. All I have is hearsay – that, and the records left behind by all of the queens of New Hyrule. The map you held in your hands was drawn by the first of them, who shares her name with your niece. These things are in my possession because I am her descendant."

Daphnes nodded in acknowledgment of Ganondorf's incredulous expression and removed a ring from his hand. He held it up, its large ruby shining from between the eagle wings that formed its band. "By all rights, this ring belongs in a museum. It's registered as a national treasure, and it signifies that I have the strongest claim on the throne of New Hyrule. If we lived even a hundred years ago, I would be king. This status accords me certain privileges, which is why I've been able to track your movements so closely."

Ganondorf's rage had been building as Daphnes spoke, and he could no longer contain himself. "FUCK YOU," he roared, slapping the ring from Daphnes's hand. It flew across the room as Ganondorf rose to his feet.

"Do you even hear yourself talking? A source of unimaginable power exists, and it belongs to everyone, but no one can know about it except for the scions of the royal family. How convenient that must be for you!"

Ganondorf glared down at Daphnes as he towered over him. Daphnes tried to stand, and Ganondorf shoved him back down.

"I came to this country because I fell in love with it," Ganondorf growled, "and all it did was fuck me. I gave everything to New Hyrule, but even after two decades it still never lets me forget that that I don't belong here. Now that I know this land and its history better than anyone, I've uncovered something so amazing that it could revolutionize our entire understanding of the world, and you say to me that I'm not _allowed_ to know about it. Of course not, not someone from Papuchia, not a foreigner who doesn't even understand the Legend of Zelda. And you have the gall to insinuate that I'm some sort of demon king if I'm interested in a power that can only belong to Hylian royalty? What gives you the right? What century is this?"

Daphnes tried to stand from the couch once again. "Ganondorf, listen," he begged, "I can explain – "

"No, _you_ listen to _me_." Ganondorf shot out his hand, grabbed Daphnes by the collar, and lifted him off his feet. "This is ignorant xenophobic bullshit. Tell me, who was Malladus, that you Hylians thought you could come to this continent and wage war against him for wanting to take his own land back from you? Who was the Demon King on the Great Sea, that you idiot historians see fit to say nothing more about him than that he lusted for power? Are you so blinded by your entitlement that you can't see that it's you who create these monsters?"

Daphnes's face had turned a livid shade of red as he struggled to free himself. _Good_ , Ganondorf thought. _Let him choke._

A loud buzzing suddenly erupted into the tense silence as Ganondorf's phone vibrated in the pocket of his suit jacket. He instinctively knew it was Tetra. He released Daphnes, who collapsed on the sofa and gasped for air. Ganondorf ignored him as he swiped his phone on.

"Ppl r being mean," the message on the screen read. "What to do?"

Ganondorf sighed. He had done everything in his power to shield Tetra from the thoughtless discrimination of adults while showing her that she was just as good as any of the other children. When it finally seemed as if she were being accepted, he had dared to hope that she might succeed where he had failed so many times. By the gods, how could he have been so foolish?

"Is it Tetra? Is she okay?" Daphnes asked, his voice hoarse.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Ganondorf muttered, staring at the screen as he considered how he should reply. Without the car, it would take time for him to pick Tetra up, and in any case he knew she would resent him if he intervened.

"Look, Ganondorf, there's something else I wanted to show you," Daphnes said softly.

"I don't want to see it."

"No, I suspect you don't," Daphnes replied, shifting his weight to pull his wallet from his pants. He removed an old photo with curled and battered edges and held it up to Ganondorf.

Ganondorf squinted at it, not believing what he was seeing. He took the picture to examine it more closely. It showed Daphnes against the backdrop of the ocean, younger by some ten years, bare chested with his open shirt flapping in the sea breeze. He had his arm around Jolene, who had laid a protective hand on her stomach.

"What in the dark realm is this supposed to be?" Ganondorf felt his rage drain away as he gazed at the two smiling faces. His anger was replaced by a shock so profound that his knees went weak. He sat down next to Daphnes, still clutching the photo.

"It's a long story," Daphnes answered. "Do you want another drink?"

"You got my sister pregnant."

"No one was more surprised than I was. This isn't something I've ever talked about with anyone, but I'm not... I don't..."

"You don't what?"

"I had never slept with a woman before. My family was pressuring me to get married, and I went out to sea to escape them. I met Jolene on the ocean, and we became friends. I don't... generally see women in that way, but it seemed to be something she wanted, and I thought, maybe I should try harder..."

"Try harder to not be gay?" Ganondorf barked bitter laughter. "And that's where Tetra came from, Great Din. Leave it to Jolene to pull something like this. I imagine she disappeared on you before you even knew she was expecting."

Daphnes handed Ganondorf a glass of whiskey before pouring one for himself. "That's essentially what happened. I tried to keep track of Jolene, but it wasn't easy, and it wasn't until relatively recently that I found out about Tetra. In the process I ended up learning about you as well, and the nature of your research disturbed me greatly. If, let's say... Supposing the Legend of Zelda is true, as indicated by the records of the royal family, then Tetra could be in grave danger. She could be the next Zelda."

Ganondorf took a sip of whiskey as he processed this information. "So Tetra is a princess."

Daphnes drained his glass and exhaled. "Technically, yes. If there were still a throne of New Hyrule, she would be the first in line to claim it. That ring you sent flying across the room should belong to her." He paused to massage his throat, and the corner of his mouth raised in a slight grin. "As her father, I think you should probably respond to her text."

"Go fuck yourself," Ganondorf grumbled. He picked up his phone and began typing. He had always seen Tetra as a princess, and none of this changed anything.

"Bide your time," he wrote. "If someone demonstrates disrespect, then they clearly underestimate you. Allow them to reveal their secrets, and take advantage of their weaknesses to strike back when the time is right." He hit send, and then added, "My clever girl, you will rise above them all."

"Does she want us to go pick her up from her sleepover?" Daphnes asked.

Despite himself, Ganondorf smiled. The idea of showing up with Daphnes in the Epona in the middle of the night to collect Tetra amused him, especially since her new friend's mother had always been skittish in his presence. "Do you want pick up?" he sent, not even noticing his typo.

Her reply came back almost immediately. "No, it's ok, I'm fine." Ganondorf started to turn the screen off, but his phone buzzed again with another message. "Say hi to the other old man."

"Cheeky brat," he sent back. How had Tetra known he was with Daphnes? He supposed that, if she really were a true-blooded princess, then it was possible that she might indeed have special powers. How strange his life had become. He had immigrated to New Hyrule to chase his dream of living in a fantasy, and now here he was. He set his phone down and took another sip of whiskey, returning his eyes to the picture of Daphnes and Jolene.

"I'll give you the benefit of assuming you're not just a bigot," he said to Daphnes. "So why don't you tell me more about what you know regarding the history of New Hyrule. Tetra's not going anywhere, and neither am I. I've got all night, and I want to know the whole story."

Daphnes's face brightened, and Ganondorf was struck by the realization that the man had probably been waiting his entire life for someone to ask him this.

"Well, if you've got all night," Daphnes said, "have another drink, and let's get started."


	10. Chapter 10

Ganondorf crossed his arms and closed his eyes as a gust of warm summer wind blew through Daphnes's backyard. The breeze carried the crisp scent of freshly mowed grass and the sweet fragrance of the gardenia flowers twining along the fence. He and Daphnes had procured an inflatable pool at Malomart earlier that morning, and he listened to the sound of water gushing from the garden hose as it slowly filled.

Daphnes had gone with Tetra to pick up one of her friends, an older girl named Impa. Now that Link was tutoring her, Tetra's grades had skyrocketed, and she had been allowed to skip a year. Under Daphnes's auspices, she had been invited to enter one of the city's elite private middle schools, and her guidance officer had assigned Impa as her peer counselor. The semester wouldn't begin for another two months, but the two girls were already as close as sisters.

The front door slammed open, and footsteps pounded through the house. Within seconds, Tetra dashed through the back door, sailing through the air as she jumped into the pool. Water splashed everywhere, soaking Ganondorf's sandals. He barely had time to register his annoyance before Impa flew past him, landing next to Tetra and sending a second wave flooding over the rim. The two girls laughed as shining drops of water fell onto their faces. Ganondorf felt a sharp pain in his chest when he realized that neither of them had even noticed he was standing there.

"Mr. Dragmire, good afternoon!"

Ganondorf turned to see Link carrying a large red cooler through the door.

"Do you fancy something to drink?" the young man asked. "We picked up a bunch of stuff at the gas station – Hyoi soda, Deku juice, Lon Lon milkshakes, you name it. We also got a huge pack of Swamp Potion popsicles, if you want one."

"No, that's fine." Ganondorf smirked, remembering how the popsicles used to turn his lips and tongue bright green. "You'll watch the girls, then?"

"Of course, sir. I'll protect them with my life," Link replied, grinning.

"Whatever you say. I'll leave you to it, then."

Ganondorf kicked off his sandals by the door and walked into the cool shade of the interior of the townhouse, his wet feet squelching on the floorboards.

"Be careful tracking water onto the floor," Daphnes called out to him from the kitchen.

Ganondorf snorted and sat down on the leather couch under the chandelier, kicking his ankles to flick water as far into the room as he could.

"You invited three children to play in a kiddie pool in your backyard, and you're worried about me leaving footprints. You clearly have no idea what sort of chaos is waiting for you when they come back inside," Ganondorf responded, leaning back and spreading his arms out along the top of the sofa.

"You misunderstand me," Daphnes said as he emerged with a hand towel and two glasses of white wine. "If the children slip and fall, they'll be fine." He handed a glass to Ganondorf and placed the other on the side table as he knelt and began drying his feet. "But you're not so young anymore. I wouldn't want you to break a hip."

Ganondorf nudged Daphnes with his toe. "Look who's talking, old man. Don't hurt yourself getting up."

Daphnes slapped Ganondorf's shin with his towel, picked up his wine glass, and sat down next to Ganondorf, inserting himself into the crook of his arm.

"I didn't know you were going to ask Link to come over."

"I needed someone to keep the girls occupied. They adore him, and I'm sure he'll be able come up with an afternoon's worth of adventures."

Daphnes lifted his wine glass in a toast. "Here's to being left alone for a few hours."

"Cheers to that." Ganondorf clinked the rims of their glasses together and drank. The wine was cool and refreshing. As always, Daphnes's taste was impeccable.

"Tell me," Ganondorf began, pausing to watch the sunlight refracted off the chandelier's glass panes dance across the bookshelves lining the wall. "Is this what you thought would happen?"

"When I asked you to come here for the first time?"

"You didn't give me much of a choice, did you?" Ganondorf ran his thumb along the curve of Daphnes's shoulder.

"I don't know if anyone has ever told you this about yourself, Ganondorf, but it's extremely easy to manipulate you. Everything went according to plan."

"You think I'm easy to manipulate?"

"Tetra has you twisted around her finger, haven't you noticed? You should be thankful that she's found herself a friend her own age. If she didn't have anything better to do, I have a suspicion that she could amuse herself by making your life miserable without any trouble at all."

"Isn't that your job now?" Ganondorf moved his hand to Daphnes's neck and slowly drew him closer.

"Hey, were you just talking about me?"

Ganondorf jerked around to see Tetra standing beside the couch.

"Where'd you sneak in from?" he growled.

"Yeah, you didn't hear me because I dry my feet before I come in the house, unlike some people." She rolled her eyes. "That's my Gamegoron 3DS XL on the armrest there. Pass it over, will you?"

Ganondorf set his wine glass down on the table and picked up Tetra's game console, whatever it was called. "Catch," he said, tossing it to her. She plucked it from the air with an easy grace, winked at Daphnes, and ran back outside.

"That girl is going to be trouble when she's older," Ganondorf sighed.

"Oh, she'll be fine." Daphnes placed his wine glass on the table next to Ganondorf's. "She's a princess, after all."

"And when were you planning on telling her that?"

Daphnes looked away. "When the time is right."

"Listen, I have a serious question." Ganondorf took Daphnes's chin in his hand and turned his face back toward him. "If we get married, will that make me a king?"

Daphnes laughed and shook his head. "Hardly. And if you think that will give you the right to excavate the force gems, you're gravely mistaken."

"Don't underestimate me. I'll have them yet. If they're real, it will be the greatest discovery humankind has ever known, and no one will get in my way. Just try to stop me."

Daphnes placed his hand over Ganondorf's. "You know, I've been thinking about that for the past few months, and I've come to the conclusion that you might be right. If the force gems do exist, then they exist for all of New Hyrule. Long ago, in ages past, such artifacts summoned awful tempests to rage across this land. Now we float on calmer tides, and it seems like a shame to waste the potential of that power."

"Then you'll join me?" Ganondorf asked as he traced his fingers along the line of Daphnes's beard.

Daphnes smiled. "I've had so many regrets in my life, and it's time to put them to rest. I've always had a thing for forgotten kingdoms, and we're not too old to go questing."

"Of course we're not," Ganondorf agreed. "Those kids will have their day soon, but the future still belongs to us." He pulled Daphnes forward and kissed him.


End file.
